Fitchburg State Defeats Cougars 74-67 in Season Opener

Worcester, Mass. – Fitchburg State pounded the glass to the tune of 58 rebounds and the visiting Falcons fought their way to a 74-67 win over Clark University in non-league women's basketball action on Tuesday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The win for Fitchburg State is their first under new head coach Brooke Freeberg, while the Cougars, who opened the season with a 60-point win over Becker last Saturday have now dropped back-to-back contests (1-2).

Of their 58 rebounds, 26 came on the offensive glass which led to the Falcons holding a decisive 20-7 edge in second chance points.

Neither team could find much consistency in the opening 20 minutes as they combined to commit more turnovers (27) than baskets made (16). Despite all of that, Fitchburg State went into halftime ahead, 26-24 as they took advantage of their time at the line, going 12-for-13.

Clark grabbed their only lead of the second half in the opening seconds of the stanza when Sam O'Gara found Brooke Brennan for a three-pointer, giving the Cougars a brief 27-26 lead.

Over the next five minutes, the Falcons went on a 16-6 run with half of those points coming from Megan Wodzinski on a pair of three-pointers and a strong finish on the end of the fast break.

Brennan dropped in another three-pointer to cut the lead down to six, but Britney Payne hauled in one of her eight offensive rebounds and scored inside, sparking a quick 7-0 run that was capped by a Tori Cyrus triple and when the dust cleared the Falcons were ahead by 13, at 49-36.

Clark fought back over the next several minutes, and when Sami Dokus picked off a pass and found O'Gara for a fast break layup, the Cougars were within two at 59-57 with a little more than four minutes to play.

However, a 10-2 run by the Green and Gold quelled any thoughts of a comeback as Kristen Enright and Laura Cote played huge roles in the game-sealing run.

Wodzinski finished with a team-best 21 points, while Enright (12 points, 15 rebounds) and Payne (nine points, 12 rebounds) provided much of the interior dominance.

Rebecca Fluet had an excellent all-around game, totaling seven points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in 34 minutes.

Clark was paced by Brennan's career-high 26 points, while O'Gara notched career-bests with 22 points and ten assists.

Victoria Russo did give the Cougars some fight on the inside, finishing with eight rebounds and a career-high seven blocks before fouling out.

Both teams will return to the hardwood on Thursday with the Falcons hosting Rivier and the Cougars heading to face Connecticut College. Both games tipoff at 7:00 p.m.